Eleanor Vance

After finishing The Haunting of Hill House, I found myself wondering whether Eleanor Vance's death was, in fact, a tragedy. Given what we know about her biological family, Eleanor's returning there would be less than ideal. Her older sister, Carrie, concerns herself more with "her" car than Eleanor's well-being. She states "I'd never forgive myself, Eleanor, if I lent you the car and something happened...the car is worth a good deal of money" (7). In her defense, she does seem a little uncomfortable with the fact that Eleanor would be under the care of a man they both know nothing about. Here I thought: okay, she does care! But then Carrie receives a phone call informing her that Eleanor is a-okay, and she brushes over that in order to get more information on the car. I had to keep myself from smacking my forehead at this point. All jokes aside, I feel extremely sad for Eleanor, and wonder if I too would immerse myself in a fanciful world given that I was in her position. Then, I wondered: is her death truly a tragedy? After all, Hill House is the only place that she has ever felt at home--understandable given that she was shacking it up on her sister's sofa. Most importantly, Eleanor is surrounded by people who worry about her well-being, not her car's.